Connecticut Books

Now in its second printing, this book is a wonderful review of the history of UConn. Many of the photographs haven't been seen in decades -- some have never been published before. Anyone who attended UConn and anyone who is a Husky fan will love this book.

This is a neat live Keillor show that has you feeling as though you are in the Mark Twain house in Harford Connecticut. Very personal views of Twain with wonderful comparisons and observations by and of Keillor. Different than the usual Garrison Keillor Prairie Home Companion Show, a genuine trip into history with Keillor's usual irreverant flare for truth and comedy.

My Great Great Grandfather, Private Thomas Quinlan (who is on page 230 of this book)who fought under DeForest with the 12th Connecticut Volunteers, would have been proud of the way in which DeForest's written words immortalize the battles that they fought for future generations to understand just how brutal the Civil War battles were. DeForest describes the battles in such a way that the reader feels that they are there on the battlefield. This book is a "MUST HAVE" for any Civil War library/collection.

For all those who love to walk in the fields and woods and admire the beauty that surrounds us, this volume will be educational and a stimulation to conserve and preserve our lovely planet.

For more than twenty years beginning in the late 1960s, naturalist Kaye Anderson roamed the hills and valleys of Westchester and Fairfield Counties (in NY State and Connecticut, respectively), scrutinizing every thing that lived and grew. She had a keen eye, a warm heart, and a devotion to sharing her wealth of knowledge with anyone who showed an interest. She died much too young, in 1988. But in this book, revised and expanded by naturalist Peggy Turco, Kaye lives on, still leading those who make the effort to follow her along her favorite woodland paths. For all who explore the wild nooks of these suburban counties, this is the walking guide non pareil.

Authentic, few words wasted, chilling, a nightmare retold. A warning about how communism can eat a country and kill people. The depth of common men committing senseless crimes against each other described by a survivor. A warning against being complacent in the face of totalitarianism. Don't trust any totalitarian communist regime in a large country, or in a small country.
This is the real memory of a humble man, not made up. Kopasci was a compassionate man, but he has seen the horrors.

To understand Hungary between 1945 and the 1970s, this is an important book to read.
If your parents have fled Hungary in 1956, this may help you understand. Buy a copy to keep in the family. Don't forget.

Harlan Hatcher's intricate history of northern Ohio, encompasing the early days of the Connecticut Land Company in the closing decade of the eighteenth century to the industrial growth period of the early twentieth century, uses a combination of first person narrative and biographical anecdotes, as well as other primary documents, to support and enhance a story that is both informative and enjoyable. In his remarks in the foreward to this revised edition, George Knepper describes Hatcher as having "the novelist's touch," an ability to infuse the story "with the human interest that brings life and meaning to the factual account". Beginning with a piece of western wilderness territory just south of Lake Erie, reserved by Connecticut for itself out of the lands deeded to the federal government in 1786, the surveying, settling and growth of "New Connecticut," the state of Ohio, is a fascinating story of vision and optimism by men of courage and resourcefulness.

The real strength of Hatcher's work is that demographics and dates, while important and recognized, take second place to the words of the people who shaped Ohio, lived in and loved it. He has managed to breathe life into Ohio's story and make what could have been a dusty narrative come to life in the accounts, letters, and journals he quotes. Hatcher's obvious respect for this, his native state, permeates the text and only adds to his credibility. In his closing remarks he summarizes this viewpoint, saying: ". . . the Western Reserve, aware of its background and of its strategic position at the heart of America's industries, rich in education, drama and the fine arts, rooted in the past but with its head erect, faces with equanimity the destiny which persistantly unfolds before it." This is a must read for every student of Ohio history.

Tomie dePaola is back with the fourth installment of his marvelously charming and warmhearted 26 Fairmount Avenue series. What A Year picks up right where On My Way left off, September 1940, and for young Tomie, this was the very best time of the year. September brings the beginning of first grade and Tomie's sixth birthday, with a class party and special presents. Then on to his first trick or treating Halloween and a favorite costume, Thanksgiving with the extended dePaola clan and a trip to the movies to see Pinocchio, Christmas, with pageants and presents, almost ruined by chicken pox, and the first New Year's Eve he stayed up past midnight to ring in the new year. And through it all, Mr dePaola fills his engaging memoir with well remembered and entertaining details, events, and anecdotes. Written in an easy to read, conversational style, and enhanced by delightful black and white sketches, What A Year is perfect for youngsters 7-11, and makes an even better read-aloud story the entire family can share together. Told with great insight, wisdom, humor and love, the 26 Fairmount Avenue series just gets better with each new book. As Tomie writes in his diary on the first day of the new year..."I wonder what 1941 will be like?" We can only wait for the next installment to find out.

Early in the history of this country a few hardy souls set out to establish a town they could call their own. Windsor, CT was first surveyed and then platted to show ownership, and thereby a vested interest in making a "stopping place", their home. The maps included in Volume I give a detailed view of where one family lived in relation to another. Volume II goes into great detail--more than 900 pages, outlining the relationship of one family to another. This volume provides great genealogical information for the more than 200 families who lived, married, and raised families who have since spread throughout the United States. The descendants have since populated many parts of the country and can trace their ancestory back to "The History of Ancient Windsor Connecticut."

This makes a great source of information for those who have an ancestor named in these volumes.

This little book is not so much written, as compiled, by the author. John Taylor, in the earliest years of the 20th century, painstakingly combed through local town records (written by hand in that faded ink and all-but-undecipherable old script) from the 17th century. He provided an enormous service to historians by extracting and printing any and all documentation pertaining to the the subject of witchcraft in Connecticut Colony, and is credited for discovering the name and place of residence of the first woman to be executed as a witch, Alse (Alice) Young of Windsor. The value of Taylor's service cannot be underestimated, and this volume is absolutely essential to the study of this tragic but fascinating slice of American history.